Architecture fascinates me. Especially contemporary buildings. Every time that I photograph a structure I ask myself if I want to capture a detail or the whole. Recently I started photographing corners of buildings. I believe the inspiration came from Hiroshi Sugimoto. One portfolio that I admire is the one of blurred architectural portraits. He visually reduces buildings to their signature structures. All details had been removed. The other portfolio is his Seascapes series. Sugimoto captured various oceans and seas with the same composition, a 50/50 split between sky and water. It creates a simple, consistent visual language throughout this portfolio. When I saw a print at a Boston gallery I was drawn to its simplicity. I had the same impression when I first saw Bernd and Hilla Becher’s photographs of industrial structures. I like repeating layouts with slight variations of the content.
I am intrigued by corners. I like the shift in the surfaces, the balance between the two sides, the details that architects create to visually connect the planes. Each building has its own character and can be identified by a few signature elements. By photographing corner views I push each building into the same layout. It simplifies the composition and highlights just a few characteristics. Most people who are familiar with the portrayed buildings can easily identify them. I am not sure where I will end up with this series. I would like to shoot them in large format to have better control of the composition. I am certainly aware of the physical implications. The equipment is heavy. I used digital 35mm to capture these images. At least that is a start. D!RK
MIT Media Lab. This view doesn’t exist anymore since they have added an addition to the building.
Museum Sammlung Brandhorst / Munich
Institute of Contemporary Art / Boston
La Perla del Caribe hotel / Mexico